The Witch of Eye

by Mari Griffith

  Radford, Lewis Bostock, Henry Beaufort, Bishop, Chancellor, Cardinal (Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd, 1908)

  Vickers, Kenneth Hotham, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester – A Biography (Archibald Constable & Co., 1907)

  Watts, John, Henry VI and the Politics of Kingship (Cambridge University Press, 1996)

  Various contributors to The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. This indispensable work of reference is freely available to members of subscribing local libraries, in my case the Vale of Glamorgan Libraries Service.

  Perhaps my greatest debt is to the authors of the following two academic papers:

  Freeman, Jessica, Sorcery at court and manor: Margery Jourdemayne, the Witch of Eye next Westminster (© Elsevier Ltd, 2004. All rights reserved.)

  Rutton, William Loftie, The Manor of Eia, or Eye-next-Westminster. This paper was read to the Society of Antiquaries in London on January 20th1910.

  I value the honest opinions of several friends who read the original manuscript, but I particularly want to thank my mentor, Andrew Wille, as well as my editor at Accent Press, Greg Rees, for shining a light into a few dark corners.

  And, as always, thanks to Jonah for not minding my occasional neglect.

  Llanilltud Fawr, 2016

  Root of the Tudor Rose

  Mari Griffith

  1421: Henry V and his young bride, Catherine de Valois, are blessed with the birth of a son – but their happiness is short-lived. Catherine is widowed and when her father, the French king, also dies, her son inherits the crowns of France and England. Just ten months old, Henry VI needs all his mother’s watchful care to protect him from political intrigue.

  But Catherine is a foreigner at the English Court. Lonely and vulnerable, she is held in suspicion by those with their own claims to the throne. Only with another outsider, a young Welshman named Owen Tudor, does Catherine find true friendship but their liaison must be kept secret at all costs. Catherine, Queen of England is forbidden to remarry and she is in love with a servant...

  The White Ship

  Nicholas Salaman

  For all fans of historical fiction and especially readers of Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth

  Based on a true story, this tale of passion and revenge brings the past vividly to life.

  Normandy in 1118 is a hotbed of malcontent barons kept in fragile order by their duke, Henry I, King of England. Fresh from early years in a monastery, Bertold - the bastard son of one of these barons - meets Juliana, a countess and daughter of the King.

  He falls in love, or lust (he isn’t sure), but sees that his chance could come with work in her small court. Soon, though, he finds himself caught up in a ruthless feud between Juliana and her father. Juliana's daughters are offered as hostages for a strategic castle, and even love is not enough to allay a tragedy that will change the course of history.

  Swordland

  Edward Ruadh Butler

  Robert FitzStephen is a warrior down on his luck. Arrogant, cold, but a brilliant soldier, FitzStephen commands a castle – yet although his mother was a princess his father was a lowly steward. When a Welsh rebellion brings defeat and a crippling siege, his highborn comrades scorn him, betraying him to the enemy. A hostage of his cousin, Prince Rhys, FitzStephen is disgraced, seemingly doomed to a life of obscurity and shame.

  Then King Diarmait arrives ...

  Diarmait is the ambitious overlord of an Irish kingdom. Forced to flee by the High King of Ireland, he seeks to reclaim his lands by any means possible – and that includes inviting the Normans in. With nothing left to lose – and perhaps a great deal to gain – FitzStephen agrees to lead the Irishman’s armies, and to drive Diarmait’s enemies from his kingdom. His price? Acceptance, perhaps ... or perhaps a kingdom of his own?

  For more information about Mari Griffith

  and other Accent Press titles

  please visit

  www.accentpress.co.uk

  Published by Accent Press Ltd 2016

  ISBN 9781783758715

  Copyright © Mari Griffith 2016

  The right of Mari Griffith to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  The story contained within this book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, Ty Cynon House, Navigation Park, Abercynon, CF45 4SN

  Map and family tree design by Zoe Foster.